Energized and Unstoppable: Meet the Young Visionaries Reimagining Civic Engagement

Institute for Citizens and Scholars Announces 500 Inaugural Recipients of the Carnegie Young Leaders for Civic Preparedness Fellowship

PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Across the country, young people are stepping up to lead their communities with innovation, courage, and purpose. The Institute for Citizens & Scholars proudly announces the first-ever cohort of Carnegie Young Leaders for Civic Preparedness fellows: 100 youth-driven teams, 500 passionate changemakers across 27 states already making a real difference in the world they will inherit and shape.

With support from a $2,050,000 grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York, these fellows will receive funding, mentorship and access to a vibrant network; empowering them to launch bold local initiatives and partner with peers and mentors committed to a stronger democracy. 

Selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants, these young leaders, ages 14-24, have demonstrated outstanding vision, collaboration, and a deep commitment to driving positive change in their communities. Each team will receive grants of up to $7,500, along with access to mentorship, a national network of civic leaders and the resources necessary to bring their ambitious projects to life.

Unlike programs that simply provide funding, the Carnegie Young Leaders for Civic Preparedness puts real decisions and real responsibility in the hands of its fellows. They are trusted to zero-in on what truly matters in their communities and make it happen. These projects are not about earning school credit or building resumes but instead creating real, meaningful change. Fellows are fully supported every step of the way with expert guidance, mentorship, and training to help them make a genuine difference.

"These extraordinary young people show that effective leadership isn't defined by age: it's the creativity to solve problems and move communities forward," said Audra Watson, Chief of Youth Civic Programs, Institute for Citizens & Scholars. "These young leaders are entrepreneurs, innovators, and organizers bringing bold, practical ideas to life. With our support, funding, and mentorship, we are helping them accelerate their impact where it matters most. We can't wait to see the results of their effort, both today and for the future."

These 100 youth-led teams are transforming their communities with a remarkable range of themes and solutions, all critical to enhancing our democracy, including voting access, civic education and engagement, media literacy and digital citizenship, mental health and social belonging, health equity and community wellness, sustainability and environmental protection, housing, financial literacy, and food security.

A sampling of the 2025 fellows and their projects includes:

• VRing Democracy (San Francisco, CA): Harnessing virtual reality to make voting more accessible for immigrant communities through immersive, multilingual experiences.
• BioGlitter (Anchorage, AK): Girl Scouts replacing harmful plastic glitter with biodegradable options in schools and youth centers to promote sustainability.
• Healthy Salad Meals (Goleta, CA): High school students combating food insecurity by growing fresh salad greens with solar-powered hydroponics on campus, reducing waste and hunger.
• We Build Us (Wylam, AL): Local teens converting abandoned land into a vibrant community garden, creating "third spaces" to fight food deserts and community blight.
• Youth Caregiver Action Network (Detroit, MI): Building peer networks, advocacy tools, and mental health supports for young people caring for ill family members. 
• Cypress Disaster Recovery (Cypress, TX): Teens developing long-term disaster recovery systems to empower and support underserved families after emergencies.
• NACER (Tacoma, WA): Educating youth on AI, deepfakes, and digital media through hands-on workshops to build critical media literacy skills.
• Dear Stranger NYC (New York, NY): Addressing the teen mental health crisis by creating supportive spaces for self-expression and connection.

Those selected are working on a variety of projects across the nation-—some are big, aiming to change systems, while others focus on smaller, local impact. They live in cities and rural areas, have diverse political backgrounds and include both teenagers and young adults at varying points in their civic engagement journeys.

Meet the full list of 2025 recipients and learn about their projects at: https://citizensandscholars.org/500-gen-zers-named-2025-carnegie-young-leaders/ 

About the Institute for Citizens & Scholars 

The Institute for Citizens & Scholars cultivates talent, ideas, and networks that develop young people as effective, lifelong citizens. We unite the left, right, and center to develop breakthrough solutions that create stronger citizens in our country, and we bring these solutions to life by forming strategic partnerships with an intentionally diverse group of young people, scholars and education leaders, and civic and business leaders—including the 27,000 world-leading Fellows in our network. Together, we're on a mission to ensure that Americans everywhere are civically well-informed, productively engaged, and committed to democracy. 

About Carnegie Corporation of New York

Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. Today the foundation works to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for the issues that Carnegie considered most important: education, democracy, and peace.

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SOURCE Institute for Citizens & Scholars